Concrete block making



April 2O 1926. 1,581,797 G. FEY

CONCRETE BLOCK MAKING Filed Oct. 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l CONCRETE BLOCK MAKING- Filed ooi. e, 1925 :a sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR f @f2 VZMTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

, UNITES sraras PATENT OFFICE.-

GEORGE FEY,'QF TAMAQUA PENNSYLVANIA.

CONRETE BLOCK MAKING.

Application mea october e, 1925. serial No. 60,714;

forms such as concrete blocks andI the like.`

moval of the solidified forms especially easy,l my novel process providing in connection l with said apparatus an easy and effective way for moulding and removing the finished article from the mould. l

lilithr the foregoing` and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrange-` ment and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still `for the purpose of'illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings'in which like reference characters dsignate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a plan view showing my apparatus in set up position ready to receive the concrete. j

Fig; 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig; 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. d showing a diii'erent position of the apparatus. Y

Fig. d is a plany ViewY of the apparatus in open position and with the mould in section.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View onV theline 5' Of Fig; 2.`

Fig. is an enlarged view of the catch mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a similar view showingt-h-ecatch in a different operative position.

F S is a perspective View showingta concrete block made with my apparatus;

"Referring now more speciiically to` the drawings'I show myV invention as comprising a boX form, or mou-ld lia-ving removable' side:

and end walls 10 and l1 as well as a removable bottom 12; The members constituting these parts are preferably wholly separable 'from each other tofacilitate the process, but

any other arrangement may be employed which will. permit the boX to be readily demounted for the removal of` a block that has solidified therein. 1'

Means are provided co-operating between adjacent side Walls to retain said walls inpredetermined relation with each other as desired and to facilitate the setting up of the' mould to receive the concrete. Said means constitute generally a locking deviceA which is made eiiective through the operation of internal pressure of the concrete against the Walls of the mould. More spe? citically, it will be seen that the end walls arey provided with a plurality of. spaced members, one of which is a bar V13 which is rigidly secured at the edges of said end walls and extend-s along the entire length thereof, the other of said members 14 being positioned inwardly of the bar 13 so that the end portion of a Wall l0 is received between said bars whereby the walls l() and 11 are, re` tained in predetermined relation with respect to each other. Preferably the bar 14:'

extends across the wall 1l transversely' of the mould and in such manner as to form a groove in a block of concrete which is moulded therein, said groove being utilized in a mannerwell known in the building art iorthe purpose of forming a stronger hold between adjacent blocks4 of concrete as by pouring cement into communicating grooves between adjacent blocks. It will be: observed that.v the locking' bars or members are pret"-v erably secured upon the end walls 11 to render the locl'ring action more eliicient. In other words, since the total pressure upon the side walls l0 of the mould due to the plastic concrete within` the mould is greater than the pressure upon the end walls 11 because the area of the latter is. considerably less than that of the side walls, it follows that it is most desirable tio have the more pos`- `concrete is being poured and during such other operation as maybe desired lto form a thoroughly uniform and cohesive concrete block.

. The mould is provided withl anysuitabley means for forming'a design upon the block or for forming grooves or ridges as may be desired to facilitate the useof the blockin various ways well known to the building art; Thus bars 15 are arranged -to extend alo-ng the side walls 10 of the mould to formv corresponding grooves in the concrete block. Any number of the bars 14 may be provided along the end walls. Preferably a plurality of them is used'as shown. One of the end kwalls is provided with a groove 16 xtending thereacross in opposite relation to one of the bars14 upon the opposite end wall of the mould so as to provide a ridge upon the concrete block which is to interlock with a y corresponding groove in an adjacent concrete block when the blocks are used in the normalmanner kfor building purposes. lA rubber pad 17 or the like isprovided upon the bottom 12 of the mould and preferably secured rigidly thereto, said rubber pad vbeformed with any suitable design. A

- concrete block which is formed in the mould will when solidified have an exactduplicate ofthe design formed upon the pad. Other artistic effects may be secured as, for 1nsta'nce, by placing a sheet of plate glass intov the mould, the plate glass becoming a part of the concrete block when the concrete solidities. The rubber pad will in that event act as a cushion for the glass plate to pre-` a plurality of cross pieces 20 and aplurality of bars 21 extending lengthwise of the mould. i

` Any suitable co-operation is provided between the walls of the mould and the botl ktom thereof to facilitate the making of a tight joint therebetween. Thus said bottom is recessed at 22 along the outer side vand, end edges thereof, the wallsof the mould being received at the recessed portion. It will thus be seen that the bottom edges of said walls are slightly lower than the upper surface of the bottom of the mould.

Means are provided to co-operate with said mould or box to retain the members aforesaid reliably in position formoulding a block and especially during such time as the concrete is poured into the mould and .other operation performed for securing a block of the maximum strength, said means being readily disengageable from the box to permit the box to be set aside while the concrete hardens, and to receive another mould or box for the formation of another block, all in due course as will now be described.

Said means thus constitute a supporting device having members bearing movably against the walls of said mould, and more specifically, comprising movable end and side members or abutments 23 and 24 and a bottom-member 25.k Said abutment members are movable in any manner that may be desired for the purpose of retaining the movable walls of a mould, such as that described herein or any other Vkind, in predetermined relation with each other and in position to receive plastic concrete. Said abutment members are so arranged as to receive the mould therebetween and are movable to ward each other and toward the Walls of the mould so as to lcck around the mould. After the concrete has been poured into the mould andthe locking device of the mould becomes effective due to internal pressure within the mould as described hereinbefore, the abutment means are moved out of engagement with the walls of the mould so as to permit the mould to be removedfrom said supporting device. andset aside to permit the concrete to harden, said supporting device or machine being then in readiness to receive another mould for the formation of another concrete block. Preferably, especially for the sake lof simplicity, said abutment members are secured directly to the bottom member 25 of the machine in outwardly movable relation thereto as by means of the hinges 26 which permit said abutment members to be swung outwardly and downwardly so as to be out of the way when it is desired to remove the mould.

Means is provided for causing said abutment members` to bear against the walls of the mould as set forth hereinbefore, said means taking preferably the form of a plurality'of locking or catch devices 27 which are operative between adjacent abutments as` for instance, near the corners of thek CII edges' of said abutments` and in position to:

receive the bars 28. More speei'iically the a-butments` extend along` the,V walls ofn the mould and intocontact with each other forming corners at which theI bars and grooves 28 and 29 are positioned. Said abutments are made in any manner desired,

but preferably the side abutments 24 comprise a., plurality of bars and 8l, the la-tter whereortiis longer than the former and is positioned outwardly of the bar 30 whereby the grooves 29 are yformed due to thev 19 between said abutments and the side walls et the mould to afford a uniform bearing action upon said side walls of .the mould. 'Vhile the abutments may be. of any suitable size, they are preferably' formed so as to eX- tend below the top of the mould when the apparatus is set up soy as to facilitate the formation of' a perfectly `smooth and-uni form surface for the concrete block at the top of the mould orr for such other operation as may be desired. Bars 28 in the grooves 29 provide a. positive interlock to prevent outward movement of the side abutments when the end abutments are retained in locked relation by the catches 27. However, the catches 27 are particularly adapted 'for rapid and easy operation and comprise spring actuated members 33 which are pivoted to the anchor or supporting member 34 at 35.V The anchor member 84 is secured'directly to the side abutments as by means ofj flanges 36 and retains the member 33 in projected relation so as to-bear against the end abutments. A. spring 3'7". is provided which is secured at one end to said movable member 33. and at the other end to an arm 38 rigidly fixed within the anchor member 34'. Rollers 39 are provided at the ends ot the movable. member 33 to facilitate the operation `of the catch. When the catch is in the position shown in Fig. G, the spring 37 operates tocause the member 33 to bear aga-inst an end abutment. However, when the operator desires to open` up the machine for the removal ot the mould, he will merely pull open one of. Vthe end. abutments, thus causing a lorce to act upon the movable member 33 at the roller 39 as shown-by ar row a, causing said member to pivot about the pin. and swing into the position shown in 7 beyond dead center so that the spring is operative to retain said member against .accidentall movement. When it is desired; to close the machine, the operator will merely raise the side abutments l2li and then the end abutments so that the latter will-strike against: the end 40 of said mov-v able :member as shown by the arrow 2) overcoming the -force` of the spring and causing the member to snap back into the position, sho-wn in. Fig. 6. i T'o facilitate the removal of the mould fromfthe machine rollers 41y are provided set within the grooves 42 iin the bottom 25 of the machine so that the long bars 2l will ride upon said rollers and permit the mould tov be readily removed. Furthermore7 an end abutment is so arrangedv with relation tothe bottom 25 of the machine that when opened it provides an incline down which the mould can be readily slipped. Thus the end abutments will be seen as being hinged somewhat below the upper surface of the bottom 25 of the machine, a recess 43V being provided. in said bottom to take care of this construction.

` Novel co-operation is provided between the bottom l2 of the mould and the holding means provided by the machine. More specifically, the cross pieces 20 and members 2l will` be seen to extend somewhat beyond the sides of the mould so as to form the projectingportions 44 and 45y to engage at the. recesses 4G whichV are arranged to lock over said projections.- In this way the bottom of the mould is held securely in position and against any possibility of movement especially for a purpose to be described hereinafter. Y'

Means is provided for permitting the mouldv to be tilted while in set up position in the machine7 said means comprising preferably a pivot member 47 extending transversely of the machine. Likewise a pluralit-y of members or bars 48 may kbe yprovided extending along the bottom ot' the machine at the ends thereof and acting as stopsl to limit the tilting' movement of the machine about the pivotal member 47. The bars 48 may be 'formed of any'suitable material and arranged in any suitable manner tosecure a certain degree'of resiliency if desired whereby an easier action and at the same time a quicker return of the machine is secured when the machine is tilted. Preferably I form the members 48 ot rubber. My machine likewise comprises anchorage means.l such as a plate 49fextending wholly along the bottom of the machine and having guide members 5() co-operating with the pivot membe-r47 to retain the same in rela# tively iixed positionl and against unintended lateraly movement. Likewise the bars 5l are provided at the corners of the plate 49 to cooperate with kthe members 48 and insure a uniform and steady tilting of the machine, the members 48 being movableA between oppositely positioned bars 5l at an end of the machine. Stop means 52 are secured in movable relation to the machine to limit the stop movement thereofpwlien desired, said stop means comprising preferably bars which are hinged to the plate 49 as by means of the hinges 53. When the stop means 52 are positioned horizontally asshown in Fiomv 2, the machine is free for its tilting action. When, however, they are swung into lvertical relation they operate to abut against the bot-tom member 25 Jof the' machine to limit the tilting action. Y the free edges of the stop members insure that the same will be retained against unintended release or movement as by'merely abutting against thebottom 25.l Any suitable reinforcement means may be `provided foi` the bottom plate i9 suchas the cross pieces 54 upon which certain Vof the bars aforesaid ai'e mounted. v

My machine provides novel mechanism as has been set forth hereinbefore for facilitat-` ing the tilting of a mold after concrete has been poured thereinto. The tilting action is important to provide a concrete block of homogeneous character whereby the maximum strength may be secured and at the same time to insure that any .design that may be desired to be formed upon the block will be reproduced in the most'distinct manner possible. g

Rie-enforced concrete blocks ycan be made v in my machine by embedding metal rods in `in course of moulding the ners of the mould, said catches .including movable spring actuated members which are arranged to actuate said abutments toward each other, said catches being opened when a force superior to said springs is exertedon the abutments against which the membersl bear to move said members' out of locking position. Y

2. Mechanism as set forth in claim l wherein said supporting means comprises a bottom member to which` said abutment members are hinged at the bottom of the mould thus permitting said abutment members to swing outwardly and out of the lway of the mould to facilitate removal thereof.

3. The herein described process of mouldmg concrete blocks comprising the -setting up of a mould havingy wholly removable walls with means for frictionally engaging the adjacent walls, bracing saidwalls to retain the saine in temporarily lined position, placing plastic concrete yinto themould, removing the bracing means to lpermit the walls ofthe mould-,tobe retained iii position as aforesaid throughy the friction-al ,locking The flat'faces 54 at engagement which results from the internal pressure of the concrete a ainst the mould and the adhesion of the Wa ls to the concrete, and finally permitting the concreteto set in the mould, the walls whereof drop out of engagement .witheach other when the concrete has set.

4. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination of a mould having separable walls, and means separate from said mould comprising movable members arranged to bear upon said walls to retain the same in engagement with each other and the mould in condition to receive the concrete, said .means comprising likewise a bottom member support-ing the mould and having a pivot member upon which the bottom can beV tilted for shaking the concrete in the mould, a member being provided having a recess to receive said pivot member and a supporting member spaced from said recess and hinged for upward tilting movement tovbear against the bottom member and hold the same against tilting movement.

- 5. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination of a mould having-a bottom and detachable walls, and supporting means separate from said mould and comprising a bottom for supporting the bottom of the mould and abutment means for bearing ragainst the sides-of the mould to cause the same to remain in engagement witheaoh other to receive the concrete, said abutment means'being hinged to the bottom of the supporting means, rollers being provided between the bottom of the mould and the'bottom of the supporting means to permit the mould to be readily remo-ved from the supportingV means when the abutments are swung out of holding position. 6. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination of a mould having a bottom and detachable walls, and supporting means separate from said mould and comprising a bottom for supporting the bottom of the mould and abutment means for bearing-against the sides of the mould to cause' the same to remain in engagement with each other to receive the concrete, said abutment means being hinged to the bottom of the 1 supporting means, a pivot member being providedon the bottom ofv the supporting means for tilting the mould.

7. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination of a mould having a bottom and detachable walls, and supporting means separate from said mould and comprising a bottom for supporting the bottom of themould and abutment means for bearing againstthe sides of the mould to'cause the same to remain in engagement with each other to receive the concrete, said abutment means, being hinged to the bottom of the supporting means, anchor means .being provided to support the supporting means land riserve?v Y retain the same against lateral movement7 pivot means being provided between said anchor means and said supporting means, and sto-p means to limit the tilting of the supporting means upon the pivot means.

8. In mechanism for moulding` concrete blocks, the combination ot' a mould having a separate bottom and separate walls, and support-ing means for the mould comprising a bottom member for supporting the mould, and movable abutments having co-operation With the walls oit the mould to retain the same in engagement with each other and the mould in condition to receive concrete, said movable abutments having co-operation also with the bottom of the mould to hold the same snugly against the bottom of said supporting means, said movable abutments being hinged to the bottom member ot' the supporting means along the edges thereof, catches being provided for securing adjacent abutments to each other to retain the same in holding position to bear upon the mould.

9. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination ot a mould having a separate bottom and separate Walls, of supporting means for the mould comprising a bottom member, and abutments hinged thereto at the sides and arranged to be tilted into bearing relation to the Walls of the mould to retain the same together, rollers being provided between the bottom of the mould and the bottom of the supporting means, one of said abutments being so arranged that When tilted outwardly and away from the mould it constitutes an incline downy which the mould canbe moved With facility from the supporting means.

l0. In mechanism for moulding concrete blocks, the combination of a mould having movable Walls, and outer supporting means for the mould comprising abutments movable into bearing relation with the Walls of of the mould to retain the same in closed position, and locking means for said abutments including a bar upon one abutment and a catch upon the adjacent abutment, the abutment having the -catch being provided with a groove to receive said bar when the abutments are moved into bearing relation to the mould, said bar serving to prevent an outward movement of the abutment having the catch, said catch serving` to engage the other abutment to prevent outward movement thereof and disengagement of the bar and the groove.

ll. The combination as in claim 10 Wherein the mould is longer than, it is Wide and the abutment havingthe groove bears upon a longer Wall of the mould, the bar serving as a positive lock therefor, said catch having a spring element to facilitate operation of the catch for locking or unlocking the abutment means.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

. GEORGE FEY. 

